VANCOUVER – Matt Horne, climate change program director at the Pembina Institute, made the following comments in response to BC NDP leader Adrian Dix’s opposition to Kinder Morgan’s proposal to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline:

“Oilsands pipelines have become a major public policy issue in Canada, with public concerns about the cumulative environmental impacts from oilsands development, potential for pipeline failures and risks of tanker spills on the rise. Pipeline proposals should not be approved until governments address those concerns.

“From a climate change perspective, the oilsands are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and the biggest obstacle to meeting our emissions reduction targets. The country has no serious policy to constrain those emissions and, as a result, opposition to new pipeline capacity is entirely appropriate.

“If built, the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion would increase greenhouse gas emissions in Canada through increased oilsands production by an estimated 13.4 million tonnes per year. That is two thirds the amount by which B.C. is trying to cut its 2020 emissions and equivalent to adding 2.7 million cars to the road.”

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